U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin said Tuesday that the border is safer and more secure, and he credited a 1 1/2 -year-old initiative for recent progress in Arizona.

The Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats has helped drive down illegal entries and pressure cross-border smuggling organizations operating in the Sonora-Arizona corridor, said Bersin at a news conference Tuesday at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

The alliance, launched in September 2009, consists of 60 federal, state, local and tribal law agencies in Arizona working to disrupt criminal organizations, he said.